Former Sunnyside Police Department employee arrested

SUNNYSIDE, Wash. -- A former Sunnyside Police Department employee is arrested for five counts of felony theft.

They Yakima County Prosecutor's Office issued a warrant for 21-year-old Virginia Perez on Sept. 8th. Perez was arrested this morning (Thursday, Dec. 3rd) in Los Angeles, California. She was arrested by Southgate Police and the US Marshal's Service.

Perez will be extradited to Yakima County for arraignment. She was a clerk at the police department and was terminated Sept. 19th, after 15 months of employment. This after an investigation took place while she was put on administrative leave.

The investigation revealed that between May and August 2008, 30 transactions involving city accounts used to route money were believed to involve fraud. The total dollar amount of those transactions added up to just over $11,000. Investigators believe all transactions can be traced to one person.